Braiding-machine.



0. STEINMANN & X. PFRUNDER.

BRAIDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5. 1915.

Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

mg Mimi's perms m, wow-1.1mm. wnsnmarum v c OTTO STEINMANN AND XAVER PFRUNDER, 0F WOHLEN, SWITZERLAND.

BRAIDING-MACHIN E.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

Application filed May 5, 1915. Serial No. 26,167.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, OTTO STEINMANN and XAVER PFRUNDER, citizensof the Republic of Switzerland, residin at vVohlen, in the Canton of Aarg'au, epublic of Switzerland, (whose post-ofiice address is WVohlem) have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Braiding-Machines; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The present invention has for object to provide an improved braiding machine operating without a track plate, in which the number of the spindles carrying the notched disks and rotating on stationary tubes may vary as will be required bv the pattern to be braided.

The chief advantages of the improved machine are: compulsory guiding of the bobbins and therefore high speed and certainty of working, unlimited variety of patterns which may be braided by this machine, large output and very few ruptures of the thread running from the bobbins.

Some structures embodying our invention and illustrating the principles thereof are shown in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter fully described and referred to in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a view of the improved machine shown partly in elevation and partly in vertical section on the line J K, of Fig. 2, Fig. 2 is partly a plan and partly a horizontal section on the line LM of the Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a plan of a modification of the shuttle shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is an elevation of a detail of Fig. 3 and Fig; 5 is an elevation of the lower portion of a spindle with the shuttle and with disks.

2' is a table and 30 are bottom plates secured to the table 71 by means ofbolts 50. In order to mount the tubes in any required number without having to bore corresponding holes into the table 71, the latter is preferably constructed in the form of a grating.

A bush 3 having a toothed rim is mounted in a rotary manner on a tube 2 fitted into a boss and each bottom plate 30 which bush carries rigidly a notched disk 43 imparting to the spindles 4 of the spindle carrier a rotary motion around the tubes 2 and disklike guide 7 for the bobbin shuttles 8. The shuttles run in the annular space 12 formed by the inner guides 7 and a divided outer guide 13 Which guides 7 and 13 compulsorily lead the shuttles when traveling, so that working with high speed and full certainty is obtained. The friction between the guides 7 and the shuttles and therefore the wear and tear of these parts is considerably reduced, since the guides rotate with the shuttles while hitherto the inner guides were stationary.

In order to be enabled to work with any desirable number of bushes 3 carrying the notched disk 43 and therefore to braid any desirable pattern, the outer shuttle guide 13 is formed by the adjustable parts 1, 11 and 111. The number of the identically built parts 11 may be increased, if more than four bushes 3 will be used. The end parts 1 and 111 are symmetrically built and the former has an annular portion 130 to guide the shuttles outwardly and two segments 131 and 132 forming portions of a second guide circle and concentric to the tube 2. The intermediate part 11 has two segments 133 and 134 concentric to the second tube 2 and two segments 135 and 136 concentric to the third tube 2". The end portion III symmetrical to the end portion I has an annular portion 137 concentric to the tube 2 and two segments 138 and 139 concentric to the tube 2". The segments 133 and 134 of the part 11 which are concentric to the tube 2 overlap the segments 132 and 131 of the part 1 which are also concentric to the tube 2. All the segments have the same radius, so that the overlapping segments 131, 134 and 132, 133 respectively, 136, 139 and 135, 138 constitute continuous cylindrical guiding faces for the shuttles 8. Such small guides and shuttles would not sufficiently hold the bobbin in a vertical position when traveling in the machine. Means are therefore provided which surely hold the bobbins in a vertical position.

Each spindle 4 has above the shuttle 8 three disks 40, 41, 42 leaving spaces between them, into which enter plates 43 secured at different heights upon the bushes 3. These plates 43 have the notches 44 and overlap the disks 40, 41, 42 considerably beyond the center of the spindle 4, see Fig. 2. Each plate thus acts not only as a follower for the spindles as hitherto act the notched plates extending only to the center of the spindle 4, but acts also as an efficacious means to surely hold the spindle in a vertical position, owing to the increased overlapping of the said disks 40, 41, 42 by the plates 43. At the places where the spindles 4 pass over from one bush3 to another (see Fig. 1, middle spindle) the spindles are held vertically in the most efficacious manner, because two superposed plates 43 enter in the spaces between the disks 40, 41 and 42 from opposed sides, so that, seen in the plan, Fig. 2, the whole face of the disks is overlapped once and parts of the said face twice by the plates 43. Owing to the fact that the spindles are vertically held in a very efficacious manner, the inner and outer guiding walls 7, 13 for the bobbin-shuttles 8 and the shuttles the1nselves may be very small. Furthermore one plate 43 on the bush 3 will be sufficient, while hitherto three plates with notches at the pe riphery were necessary on a spindle to hold the same vertically. A considerable simplification of the construction is therefore obtained with the overlapping extended plates.

The shuttle 8 as shown in the Figs. 1 and 2 has no tail and as the inner-guides 7 for the shuttles 8 are formed by circular plates secured to the rotating bush 3, means are provided for leading the spindles from one bush 3 to the next. For this purpose a bridge-piece 47 having two wedge-shaped projections 48 forming guide-ways together with the beaks 46 of the outer guide 13 for the shuttles 8 is secured to two pillars 49. These pillars carry also two opposite segments of the outer shuttle-guide 13 and are secured to the bottom-plate 30 or form parts thereof. Each bottom-plate 30 is concentrically adjustable to that bush 3 to which its outer guide-parts 13 are concentrically adjustable. In order to secure the adjusted bottom-plate 30 upon the table 1 or grate, it has a semi-circular slot 51 through which passes a screw-bolt 50. This slot affords to the bolt 50 in all the adjustments of the bottom-plate 30 a place in which the bolt 50 can pass through between two bars of the grate 2', so that the plate 30 may easily and rapidly be mounted upon the table or grate z.

The adjustment of the bushes 3 with the notched disks 43 and the outer shuttle guide is preferably as follows: The number of the bushes 3 being determined one of the end bottom plates 30, for example, the left hand bottom plate 30 carrying the tubes 2 and 2, the end portion 1 of the outer shuttle guide 13 and the first bridge piece 47 is mounted upon the table 1 and the bushes 3 with the notched disks 43 and the inner guide disks 7 placed upon the respective tubes 2 and 2'. Then the second bottom plate 30 with the tube 2", the third bush 3, the first intermediate portion 11 of the outer shuttle guide 13 and the second bridge piece 47 is mounted in a manner corresponding to the determined number of the bushes 3. When this number is small, the segments 131 and 134 of the parts 1 and 11 mutually overlap more and the segments 132 and 133 less. As the number of the bushes 3 increases, the segments 132 and 133 mutually overlap more and the segments 133 and 134 less. In the same manner a second, third, etc, intermediate part 11 and finally the end part 111 are mounted. Whatever may be the adjustment of the parts of the outer guide the bobbin shuttles 8 always are surely guided by the overlapping segments of the end and intermediate parts 1,11,111. The advantage of varying the number of the bushes 3 and thereby the width of the product thus is combined with that of a high working speed and certainty. The bushes 3 and guide parts 1, 11, 111 can be easily and rapidly mounted and a machine having 33 bobbins may be transformed with facility to one having 7 bobbins.

In order to facilitate the adjustment of the bottom-plate 30, a hollow cylinder (not shown) is brought upon'the bush 3 to which the plate 30 and the parts of the outer guide 13 carried by this plate have to be concentrically adjusted. The diameter of this cylinder is equal to the diameter of the inner walls of the parts of the outer guide 13 which are to be adjusted concentrically to the said cylinder. After having adjusted the plate 30 and the corresponding part of the outer guide 13 the said cylinder is removed and the plate 30 is fiXed upon the table 1. For the sake of simplicity the bushes 3 are shown in a straight line while in the most cases, they are arranged in a curve.

In Figs. 3 and 5 the shuttle 8 has an elliptical cross-section and is provided with a tail 14 adapted to engage an abutment 52, see Fig. 4, extending downwardly from the beak 46 of the outer guide 13. In this case the shuttle 8 will be caused to pass over from one bush 3 or shuttle-race 12 to another without a bridge-piece 47. The spaces 12 serving as races for the shuttles also may be shaped according to other curves than a circle. Of course, the inner and outer shuttle-guides 7 and 13 must be shaped in this case in a corresponding form.

So far as concerns the means for holding the spindles in a vertical position, see Figs. 1 and 2, it is immaterial, whether the spindles are controlled by shuttles, as shown in the drawings, or by drivers, as shown for instance in U. S. Patent No. 960122, or otherwise. Our invention. therefore includes the combination with said means, of any construction that is adapted to drive and switch the spindles from one bush having notched platesto the next bush.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. A braiding machine without a track plate adapted for a variable number of bushes comprising adjacent revolving disks formed with notches to receive spindles having shuttles, an outer divided guide for the bobbin-shuttles, the adjacent parts of the said guide overlapping one another more or less, inner guides concentric to the said bushes and forming race ways for the bobbin-shuttles together with the outer guide and a table upon which the tubes are fixed which form the axis of the revolving bushes carrying the notched disks.

2. A braiding machine without a track plate adapted for a variable number of bushes comprising adjacent revolving disks formed with notches to receive spindles having shuttles, an outer divided guide for the bobbin-shuttles, the parts of said guide having cylindrical walls whereby the adjacent parts of the said guide overlap one another more or less, inner cylindrical guides concentrical to the said bushes and forming race ways for the bobbin-shuttles together with the outer guide and a table upon which the tubes are fixed which form the axis of the revolving bushes carrying the notched disks.

3. A braiding machine without a track plate adapted for a variable number of bushes comprising adjacent revolving disks formed with notches to receive spindles having shuttles, an outer divided guide for the bobbin-shuttles, the parts of said guide having cylindrical walls whereby the adjacent parts of the said guide overlap one another more or less, inner cylindrical guides concentrical to the said bushes and forming parts thereof, the inner and outer guides constituting race-ways for the bobbin-shuttles and a table upon which the tubes are fixed which form the axis of the revolving bushes carrying the notched disks.

l. A braiding machine without a track plate adapted for a variable number of bushes comprising adjacent revolving disks formed with notches to receive spindles having shuttles, an outer divided guide for the bobbin-shuttles, each part of this guide having cylindrical walls concentrical to two parallel axes, the parts of the said guide overlapping one another more or less, inner guides concentrical to the bushes carrying the notched disks and forming race-ways for the shuttles together with the outer guide and a table upon which the tubes are fixed which form the axis of the revolving bushes carrying the notched disks.

5. A braiding machine Without a track plate adapted for a, variable number of bushes comprising adjacent revolving disks formed with notches to receive spindles having shuttles, an outer divided guide for the spindle-shuttles the parts of which guide are formed by thin plates supported by pillars and overlap one another more or less, inner guides also formed by thin plates revolving with the bushes carrying the notched disks and forming race-ways for the spindle-shuttles together with the outer guide, bottomplates each carrying a stationary tube and a pair of the said pillars and provided with a slot and a screw bolt, and a grate upon which the bottom-plates are secured by means of the said bolts.

6. A braiding machine without a track plate adapted for a variable number of bushes comprising adjacent revolving disks formed with notches to receive spindles having shuttles, an outer divided guide for the spindle-shuttles the parts of which guide are formed by thin plates supported by pillars and overlap one another more or less, inner guides also formed by thin plates revolving with the bushes carrying the notched disks and forming race-ways for the spindle-shuttles together with the outer guide, a switchplate secured to the said pillars and adapted for switching the spindles from one bush carrying a notched disk to the next, bottomplates each carrying a stationary tube and a pair of the said pillars and provided with a slot and a screw bolt and a grate upon which the bottom-plates are secured by means of the said bolts.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

OTTO STEINMANN. XAVER PFRUNDER.

Witnesses: 7

HERMANN HUBER,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents. Washington, I). O." 

